From fear to faith

Faith in God changes our whole perspective on life. Author John Maxwell notes what the result of fear is compared to the result of faith.

​Fear can stop us in our tracks and can lead to inactivity. Faith on the other hand leads to confidence and action to help others.

Consider the following situation. Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left on the log? This might seem like an easy question with an answer of one. The real answer is that we do not know at this point because there is a difference between deciding and doing. When God calls us to take action in our lives we need to move from thinking about to doing it.

In Genesis 12 God calls Abram to action. The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. Genesis 12:1. Abram responded in faith and went. Pastor Charles Swindoll provides a great explanation of this and how it can relate to our lives.
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“All Abraham knew was that God wanted him to move. He didn’t have a clue about the final destination. Nothing about the weather or the crime rate in the area. No information about the neighborhood he’d live in or the problems he would have to face. Nothing. He knew only that God had told him to go. If you’re waiting on God to fill in all the shading in your picture, you will never take the first step in obeying His will. You must be prepared to trust His plan, knowing it will be full of surprises.”

When God prompts us to do His will, like Abraham, we can respond in faith. We will not have all the details, but we can trust that God will be with us as our guide.

Several years ago Pastor Max Lucado had a sermon series on trusting in God and how God works on the behalf of Christians. In each sermon he had the congregation repeat several sentences with him. The sentences provide assurance of God’s direction and are a call to action.

These days are Glory Days.
With God as my helper,
I will be all He wants me to be,
do all He wants me to do,
and receive all He wants me to receive.
My past is past,
My future is bright,
God’s promises are true and
His word is sure.
These days are Glory Days.

With faith in God all is possible! God can move us from fear to faith. We can act with confidence knowing that God is on our side!